Tractor



A. U.AV'ERA June s, 1923.

TRACTOR Original Filed June 18, 1921' 3 Sheets'-Sheet l at tozwzg June 5, 1923.

IF ACTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original FiledJun 18, 1921 I June 5, 1923. 1,457,647 A. u. AVERA TRACTOR Original Filed June 18, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 SW/Tall LIMIT ac. co/vmoz. 51/6 ave/e 1.010 new con.

gwuentoz Patented June 5, 1923.

A393 11- HERA; or amide; 1. 1

TR TOR.

Original application filed June is, 1921, Serial 1%. 478,610,. piv'idediand thi's application n e- Izriiiy 13 r 1922. 'SerialfNo. 574,725. a

To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that If, ARoH U. AVERA, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Y Florencain the county of Lauderdale and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tractors, of which the following is a specificatlon, reference being, had therein to the accompanying drawing. My invention relates to motor driven traction implements, especially to those for agrlcultural use, such as plows and the like. i It has for its object the provision of a'compact and efficient device of this character, which maybe either automatically or manually controlled, employing the principles set forth in my prior copendmg appllcatlon filed June 18, 1921, Serial No. $78610, of which this application is a division.

Briefly and specifically stated, the present invention comprises a chassis mounted on four wheels, two of which are on connected knuckle joints for steering, with the usual compensating rod, steering link, steering arm, and worm. gear, which maybe driven either bya hand wheel f or'manually gu ding the. vehicle, or by an electric steer ng motorfor automatic operation. On the chassis are mounted traction implements such as plows, which are so arranged as to automatically accommodate themselves to the back and forth travel of the machine in operation, that isto say those at one end.

assume operative position, and those at the other end assume inoperative position at each reversal of travel'of the machine asa whole. Provision is made for actuating and for holding the implements in either position in a stable manner and for permitting them to yield to obstructions or to overload conditions. Details of construction will appear from the description hereinafter;

My invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is atop plan view of my machine showing plows carried at opposite ends.

Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same machine. A Y I Fig. 3 is a diagram of the operating connections and circuits of the machine. I Fig. 4 is a supplemental "diagram of the controlling circuits for the reversing motor of the plows.

co'nnected 'to the transmissioniline 16. j

From the 'plug'and socket the 3 p'liase' elec- I Referring to I the drawings, it i should first in Fig. 41113-5. to do particularly withf the m1.gimme 55. I be stated thatthe controllingcircuit-shown P nt invention, and may-"be energized either from an outside circuit or by the power plant'on'themachine.' G' gerat'pperating circuits-for the machine are showni n Fig. 3-, but not claimed herein," 'a's 'they form the subject of aseparate' application filed concurrently herewith; Serial No. 574,724.

In these circuits the power supply of the tractor starts with the"3-p'ole"plug at mated to the'ststion 'rypole l5, 'where i't is trio power is conveyed through' cable 'i l" to the cable drum 9 of the tractor, the tice through the three contact rings"26- t'ofeonnecting brushes 27, thence through *proteca tive fuses 68 to the'main power bus 69of the tractor.

Po'wer for the motor 10 furnishingtorque for the cable-drum is' tapped off'thisfbus through fu'sesFO, a triple'polelever switch 71 and an auto-transformer 'ffii'withtaps for adjusting potential of the 'motorto obtain the desired tension on'cable." The slip rings of: the motor "10'are' connectedtoresistances 11 of such valuethat theni'aX-imum torque'occursat or' near 'zero speed; I he actlon ofithis motor, then, is to fmal'ntain a certain torquefonthe cable drum, tof pa-y out cable when its torque isiexcee'd'ed b'y stress exerted when the tractorm'bvesaway from 'the'fixed pole, or to take up 'cable'when the-tension is lowered by the tractor ap proaching the pole; Atthe time ofmaximum'spa'n of cable the cable drum'wili be nearly empty, giving the minimum radius,

which radius (about3 inches) determines l the torque required fon maintenanee of strain oncable; 'As the tractor approaches the fixed end of cable thecable drumiifills'up',

thereby exerting a" smallenstrai'n'bn cable.

This 'condition 'is 'favor'able,' as atthat time the span is shorter than before-and thestrain required is less- The size of'motor required should be based o'n the maximum radius switch '7 3. This'hreaker' m normally is sel f fed theforward and reverse contactors 75 Y running breaker out of contact.

ing of the circuitthrough the solenoid 79 by striking some stationary object, the circuit through solenoid 7 9 being supplied with power from the D. C. control bus connected to a suitable source of direct current such as the battery 89. If the tractor should jam against an obstruction so as to lock breaker 72 open the small single pole switch 74 is opened by hand, allowing the breaker to reclose for operation of main drive motor to backaway from the obstruction.

Off the bus fed by circuit breaker 72 are and 7 6. These, besides being hand operated, are also controlled by the reversing relay contacts --51 and 5354:, the left hand contact-s being stationary while the right hand contacts are adjustable for the purpose of adjusting the point of reversal of the direction of rotation of the main drive motor and consequently the direction of travel of the tractor from a certain minimum travel up to about 1 000 feet maximum travel, for this tractor.

The reversing contactors 75 and 7 6 feed another bus 77, which in turn, feeds the starting and running, circuit breakers and 81 respectively. This operation is in the usual sequence where a starting compensator is used. With no potential on the motor the starting breakers are in contact and the 7 When potential is applied, the relay holds the starting potential on until the current has decreased to a certain point, when the starting compensator is cut out and the line potential thrown on. The starting and running breakers are mechanically interlocked as indicated by the bar 82 so as to make it impossible for both sets to be in contact at the same time.

c The steering motor 19 takes its power from the power bus through a disconnecting switch 83 and a set of reversing contactors 84: and 85 normally held'in an open position,

by means of a spring and cam arrangement 86.

a ,When the tractor is at an intermediate place in its travel, the contacts of the steering compass are both open as shown. If the machine varies its direction of travel off that for which the compass is set, terrestrial magnetism causes the needle contacts to form a more or less steady contact and when this has been maintained for a given length of time, during which time the alternating current time limit relay 87 makes contact. the solenoid 88 or 91 of the time element relay for the correction of travel neces sary is energized and the steering motor guides the tractor until correction in direction of travel is accomplished, the time ele-- ment relay 87 controlling the reversing contactors 8etand 85 through contacts 92-93, limit switch 9% and solenoids and 96.

The principle of operation of the time element relay 8? is the same as the commercia induction type relay and induction type watt hour meter used on single phase circuits. V

In order to prevent the steering wheels being turned at too great an angle, I provide limit switch 94 connected as indicated with the steering gear 70 to open one or the other of the contacts 97 or 98 when the steering wheels are turned to a predetermined limit to the right or left as the case may be.

The object for the insertion of the adjustable time element relay in the control circuit is that, with thevery close setting necessary for the compass contacts, the vibrations of the tractor will cause contacts of brief duration to occur, the time length of these contacts about equalling each other at the opposite ends of the needle. The relay allows these contacts to be repeated indefinitely without affecting the steering motor 19. However, when the direction of travel of the tractor varies for a time longer than that for which the relay 87 is set, then the length and strength of the contacts at one end of the needle will be much greater than the length and strength of those at the other end, or a continuous contact will be maintained at one point, with the result that the time element relay will have time to act and energize the correct solenoid 95 or 96 for returning the direction of travel to normal. 7

When the tractor reaches the limit of travel for which the contacts 50-51 and 5354,are Set, the following results are accomplished in the sequence given:

The cam block48 and with it the cam 65 passes to the right of the cam 59 which because of its one-way swinging joint snaps back into placewith no operative effect. At this instant the lower end of the cam block 43 engages the arm 52 causing the reversing relay contacts 58-54 to close, reversing the direction of travel of the tractor. Thisre versal is effected through the energization of of the solenoid 97 The latter-part of this cam action allows the tractor to resume its original direction of travel, its location being changed so; as to plow a new set of furrows parallel to and a certain given distance from the previous furrow. This change of location or off-setting of the plow is effected by the return movement of the cam block which in passing to the left of the cam 59 pushes it back against the tension of its retractile spring, which motion is transmitted through the tie rod 63, to the left hand cam 58 and thence through the linkage 60 to the compass box 35, the compass box being returned to its original set position under tension of the cam retractile springafter the cam block has-passed out of engagement with the cam 59. Similarly, when the tractor reaches the other end of its predetermined length of travel, the contacts 50-51 and cam 58 are actuated to reverse the direction of travel and offset the machine into another line parallel to the preceding. v

When the automatic guiding and reversingfeatures are not desired the steering motor, steering compass, time element relay and accessories'may be omitted. All other elements, including the transmission cable, cable drum and motor, main drive motor, and hand steering wheel will be included. Referring now to Figs l and 2, I show therein a preferred form of reversible plow arrangement for the tractor. The reversible effect is here obtained by the use of two sets of plows 121 and 122.,set to operate in opposite directions, and arranged to be automatically raised and lowered at opposite ends of the tractor according to its direction of travel by means of an electric motor 123. This motor (Fig. 4) is connected to a polyphase power bus 124 on the tractor,

through a reversing contactor 125 which stands in an open position when there is no current on the control coils 126 and 127, These control coils receive their excitation through a double pole relay 128 which, in turn, is operated by the control current from the reversing mechanism 129, which controls the main drive motor, not shown. The reversing contactor 125 is held in open position by means. of the spring and cam arrangement 130. When the tractor has completed the distance ofv travel for which the, reversing mechanism 129 is set, the said reversing mechanism operates and energizes the double pole relay 128, which, after it is thrown into one or the other pair of con tacts, stands thereafter with contacts closed. This relay energizes the operating coils of the motor control contactors 125 causing themotor to raise one setof plows and lower the other. The double pole relay 128 causes the plow motor to continue its revolution even after the reversing mechanism has reopened after the travel of the tractor hasv reversed." The plow operating motor 123 then continues its running until the limit switch 131 isopened by an arm 132 attached to the-plow shaft 133, thus opening the secondary control circuit through wire 134, allowing the plow motor contactor 125 to open and stop the motor.

Motion is transmitted from the motor 123 to the shaft 133 through a worm and sector connection 154, the shaft 133, being carried in journals 135 mounted on a subframe 136 hung from the tractor frame 137. The

plows 121 are loosely mounted or journalled on the shaft 133 and resiliently connected therewith through heavy coil) springs 138 which are so connected as to tendxto'. rotate the plows downwardly, 'the' dow-nward movement of the .plows being. limited vby the limit cranks 139' fastened'to the shaft and engaging the under side of the plow hooks 147 through pins 140 carried by thethe springs 14 5 are connected so as to tend to rotate the plows in an opposite direction to that of the: plows 121.- In otherwords;

both sets of plows are tensioned downward the connection of the plows 121, except' that ly. As indicated in Fig. 13, the plows are so connected through'the cranks l4i3 and 14A and connecting rod 142 that'oneset of plows will be up when the other set is down.

' The plow operating shafts are held in a stable position at the point at which the plow motor stops due tothefi fact that the pitch of the worm driving the sector is such as not to permit the sectorto drive the,

worm. v

I claim; 1 1. The combination with a power-driven vehicle, of reversible driving means; for driving the same in opposite directions, two sets of plows carried by'said vehicle far.- ranged to operate in opposite directions of travel of thevehicle, respectively, a second reversible driving means operableindepend- 1 ently of said first dr ving meansr to raise one set of plows outof operative position, and lower the other set into operative ,pQ si- .tion, and control meansoperable to simultaneously effect a reversal of both 'said'driving means atv each end of'a' predetermined limit of travel of-the vehicles y 2. The combination with a power driven vehicle, of reversible vdriving means, for driving the same in opposite'directions, two sets of plows carried by; said. vehicle. at.- ranged tooperate in opposite directions'of travel of th'e'vehicjle, respectively, a second reversible driving means operable indepenct ently ofsaid first driving means to raise one and lower the other of said sets of plows out of and into operative position respectively, control means operable to simultaneously effect a reversal ofboth said driving-means at each end of a predetermined limit of travel of the vehicle, and.

means operable upona predetermined ex-- tent of movement of said second driving means tointerrupt its operations.

3. A power driven vehicle, means to reverse the direction of travel thereof without changing ends, two sets of implements carried thereby and adapted to operate. in opposite .directions, and means operated automatically and simultaneously with reversal of the direction of travel of the vehicle to render one set of implements operative and the other set inoperative for the new direction of travel.

.4. A power driven vehicle, means to reverse the direction of travel thereof without turning end-for end, two sets of implements connected to said vehicle and-adapted to be alternately lowered and raised into and out of operative position, an electric motor for actuating said implements, a supply circuit therefor, and a reversing contactor adapted to reverse the motor connections to the supply circuit automatically in the reversal of travel of the vehicle.

I 5. A-power driven vehicle, .means to re verse the direction of travel thereof without turning end for end, two sets of implements connected to said vehicle and adapted to be alternately lowered and raised into and out of operative position, an electric motor for actuating said implements, a supply circuit therefor, a reversing contactor between said circuit and said motor, and mechanism for reversing said contactor when the direction of travel of thevehicle is reversed.

6. A power driven vehicle, means to reverse the direction of travel thereof without turning. end for end, two sets of implements connected to said vehicle and adapted to be alternately lowered and raised into and out of operative position, an electric motor for lowering and raising said implements, a supply circuit therefor, a reversing contactor for said circuit, electrical control coils for said contactor and mechanism adapted to reverse the energization of said coils when the direction of travel of the vehicle is reversed.

7. A power drivenvehicle, means to reverse the direction of travel thereof without turning end for end, two sets of implements connected to said vehicle and adapted to be alternately lowered and raised into and out of operative position, an electric motor for lowering and raising said implements, a supply circuit therefor, a reversing contactor for said circuit, normally open control coils for said contactor, a double pole relay controlling said coils and mechanism controlling the circuits of said relay in the reversal of travel of the vehicle.

8. A power driven vehicle, having a frame, parallel transverse shafts journalled on opposite ends of said frame, implements mounted on said shafts for reverse operation at opposite ends of the vehicle, spring connections between said implements andcsaid shafts normally tensioning the implements toward their operative position, limit stops for said implements on the shafts, and means to reversely operate said shafts to throw one set of implements into operative position and the other set into inoperative position simultaneously.

9. A power driven vehicle having a frame, parallel shafts journalled in said frame, implements mounted on said shafts, tension springs connecting said implements and shafts, limit cranks for said implements on the shafts, actuating cranks for the shafts, a connecting rod for said actuating cranks, and means onthe vehicle connected to one of said shafts for turning the said shafts in op.-

tension springs connecting said implements and shafts, limit cranks for said implements on the shafts, actuating cranks for the shafts, a connecting rod for said actuating cranks, and a reversible motor on the vehicle with a worm and sector connection to said shafts.

11. A power driven vehicle having a frame, parallel shafts journa-lled in said frame, implements mounted on said shafts, tension springs connecting said implements and shafts, limit'cranks for'said implements on the shafts, actuating. cranks. for the shafts, a connecting rod for said actuating cranks, and a reversible motor on the vehicle with a worm and sector connection to said shafts, the pitch of said worm being such that the sector cannot drive the worm, whereby the implements on the shafts are always held in stable position at the point at which said motor stops.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

ARCH U. AVERA. 

